WHAT AMERICA ALMOST GOT

After America declared its independence from England we almost got some pretty bizarre monuments and other national symbols. From the book Oh Say Can You See, Unexpected Anecdotes About American History by John and Claire Whitcomb, here are a few examples:

A Greek Temple at the Washington Monument – The original proposal for a monument to George Washington called for a statue of Washington on horseback clad “in Roman dress holding a truncheon in one hand and his head encircled by a laurel wreath.” Washington objected to the cost and it was never built. The winning proposal of an ensuing Washington Monument design contest held by the Washington Monument Society was an unlikely combination of Greek, Roman, and Egyptian influences. The centerpiece of the design was the 600-foot Egyptian obelisk that now sits in the Mall beyond the Capitol. It was to be encircled at the base by a colonnaded Greek temple, which was to be topped by a statue of George Washington in a Roman chariot driving four horses. They ran out of money building the obelisk and gradually the idea of the Greek temple and Roman statue faded.

Freedom in the nude - “Freedom”, the statue that tops the Capitol dome, was originally supposed to be without any clothing. But public furor at the time persuaded her sculptor to drape her in a long, flowing buffalo robe.

“His High and Mightiness” - The problem of exactly how to refer to the President of the new country was one of many faced by our founding fathers. John Adams thought he should be called, “His Most Benign Highness.” The Senate wanted “His Highness, the President of the United States of America and Protector of the Rights of the Same.” George Washington didn’t want any title and the House of Representatives agreed and “President of the United States” finally won.

The turkey lost out – It took six years of dispute before the bald eagle was chosen as our national emblem in 1789. Benjamin Franklin has been a strong opponent, calling the eagle a symbol of conquerors and accusing if of having “bad moral character” and living by”sharping and robbing”. He also wrote the eagle “is generally poor, and often lousy.” Franklin felt the turkey was a much more respectable bird and a true native of America. Congress rejected the turkey as a bluffer and a show-off and felt the bald eagle, also a bird native to the United States, was a more majestic symbol.